The Compassionate Friends - Worldwide Candle Lighting

Worldwide Candle Lighting Video
Worldwide Candle Lighting

The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age from any cause. As candles are lit at 7 p.m. local time, creating a virtual wave of light, hundreds of thousands of persons commemorate and honor children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries.

The Compassionate Friends - Home

NPR: Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me
http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/
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A VERY COOL - funny but a bit rowdy - show that I have to recommend. I've tuned in to this show on WHYY-FM 90.9 Philadelphia on RadioTime.
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I have to say that I am dismayed at the recent inclination of public radio recently of the leaning away from Christian programming of a benefit to the overall community. I haven't decided on how I feel about it as of yet as far as doing anything strong as a boycott at the moment. But it will reflect in any possible future donations I know.
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A strong part of the community at large is religion. Avoiding or denying that is not good in order to pander to those who don't care for it - for one reason or another - is unfortunate.
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I thought of this recently:
It is sort of like saying that those people who absolutely hate chocolate ice cream - and see no point in chocolate ice cream because their circle of people hate it also - win out on the removal of all chocolate ice cream out of the marketplace due to the fact they only see the point in, or will only tolerate, butter pecan - therefore chocolate ice cream is then irrelevant.
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Since when did the term 'public' become to mean secular or non-religious?
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I was not raised in that kind of world.
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I'm going to keep an eye on what public radio/tv decides to do. I haven't heard anymore on it as of yet.
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PBS to Begin Phasing Out Religious Programming From The Airwaves
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Originally posted: 12/21/08 - 10:31 PM.

Started March 29, 2005

-In Remembrance of:

--Shawn Earhart

--Theresa Marie Schindler (Schiavo)--Pope John Paul II - Karol Wojtyła.

--Walter Sharp--Jonathan Brickhouse--Trinity Nicole Casey--Anibal Cruz

--Daniel Agosto--Jesstin "Manny" Pagan--Dylan Groene--LaToyia Figueroa

--Baby Figueroa--Reese "Barry" Robertson--Brice Edwards--James Zadroga

--Leona McCleary.

Tallmansville, West Virginia-Sago Miners:

--Alva Martin Bennett--Jim Bennett --Jerry Groves--Terry Helms

--David Lewis--Martin Toler--Fred Ware Junior --Marshall Winans

--Jack Weaver--Thomas P. Anderson--George Hamner Jr.

--Jesse L. Jones--William Lee "Flea" Chisolm--John Nelson Boni.

Melville, West Virginia- Alma Miners: --Don Israel Bragg

--Ellery "Elvis" Hatfield.

--Kelsey Ann Smith--Daniel Benoit--Tammy Faye Messner--Donald Herbert

-- Caylee Marie Anthony--Eluana Englaro

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Note: ABC appears to be updating Extreme Makeover's site, and I had some trouble with it. My IE kept freezing up, and disconnected my wireless connection. The site may be a bit busy with content. A pop-up came up asking me if I wanted to try out their new site, but only gave two options. Hopefully the site will improve in time.
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- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
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Put together one very run-down house, a deserving family, several opinionated designers, seven days and what do you get? The answer is - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
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http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/
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Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Wikipedia
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Ty Pennington Style:
http://www.typenningtonstyle.com/
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You guys are absolutely still AWESOME!!!
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Yea, ABC!

The Buzz Log - Sludge In The Garden.

The Buzz Log: Sludge In The Garden
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by Mike Krumboltz
3 hours ago
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New homes are full of questions and possibilities. What color to paint the walls? How to arrange the furniture? What to plant in the garden? The Obama family must have asked a lot of those same questions when they moved into the White House. However, the first lady's dreams of growing an organic vegetable garden have been dragged down by a previous resident that refuses to leave: sludge.
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Various sources within the Buzz are reporting that Michelle Obama's "organic" garden has been besieged by icky goo in the ground. As a result, the veggies aren't quite what the first lady had in mind. According to Daily Finance, the National Park Service tested the soil in the vegetable patch and found "highly elevated levels of lead" due to sewage used as fertilizer.
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So the question is: Who to blame? While dumping sewage into the ground sounds like a crime worthy of Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons," the actual perpetrators were none other than the Clintons. Yep, back when Bill and Hillary were living it up in the White House, their gardening team used "sewage sludge for fertilizer." The fiends!
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Sounds gross, but it's actually fairly common. However, it does mean that the highly touted "organic garden" will never "attain organic status." The certification process doesn't allow "the use of sludge as a fertilizer substitute." And there's another problem: If Malia and Sasha weren't into eating their veggies before, it's going to be that much harder to get 'em to eat 'em now.
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http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/92869?fp=1
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I am so glad that they caught this. All of the children could have got sick by the high LEAD content - not to mention e-coli I would think.
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It was that thick that it - after all of this time - is still bubbling up from the ground, and why didn't the Clinton's mention it when the garden was being put in?
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I don't remember hearing or reading any good cases in the utilization of sludge in crops.
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Horrible.

Blogger jailed in Anna Nicole Smith defamation suit

Blogger jailed in Anna Nicole Smith defamation suit
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1 Jun 2009
HOUSTON, Texas (AFP)
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Like many bloggers, Harrington doesn't consider herself a publisher and did not realize she could be held liable for her posts.
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"I got into this because my business had fallen apart in this economy and it was something to do," she told AFP. "I developed a lot of friendships with women who are retired or ill at home."
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Three other bloggers are named in the suit along with Smith's former companion, Howard K. Stern, and Larry Birkhead, the father of her daughter, Dannielynn.
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Arthur alleges that the defendants conspired to defame her so she wouldn't get custody of Dannielynn, who could inherit up to 88 million dollars.
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"Lyndall Harrington is a liar who faked a burglary," said Neil McCabe who represents Arthur.
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"She's part of a conspiracy to defame my client and she's done her own defaming of my client."
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Lawsuits against bloggers in the United States have been doubling every year since 2004 with 15 million dollars in judgments so far against them, according to Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association.
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"A lot of bloggers think of themselves as individuals or maybe writers but in the courts, they are considered a publisher," Cox said.
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His organization has created an on-line course with Harvard Law School, City of New York School of Journalism and News University at the Poynter Institute at Northwestern University to educate bloggers about their legal rights and responsibilities.
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"A lot of these cases could have been avoided if things had been worded just a little differently or if they had double sourced their information," Cox said.
"Most of the time, these people are not trained journalists."
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The spike in suits is due in part to the burgeoning number of bloggers.
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About 175,000 new blogs are created every day according to Technorati, a blog search engine.
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But it also has to do with people's growing obsession with controlling their on-line reputations and new technologies that allow them to do it.
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"With Google alerts and rss feeds, it's a lot easier to monitor what's being said about you," said Sam Bayard, assistant director of the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard University.
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Moreover, the technology exists to find anonymous bloggers.
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"People can find you," said Cox at the Media Blogger Association, which this year began offering its members legal expenses insurance for an annual fee of 540 dollars for 100,000 dollars of coverage.
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The majority of cases against bloggers are for defamation but they are also frequently sued for copyright infringement and invasion of privacy.
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"There's this Wild West mentality where people think they can do anything on the Web and not be held liable," said Bayard.
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While state laws vary on what constitutes defamation and who qualifies as a journalist and thus who can protect sources, Bayard said, judges have consistently applied the same standards to blogs as they would any other medium of expression.
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"Defamation is defamation no matter whether it is written on paper or on a blog," he said.
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Article Link
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http://www.orange.mu/
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Thanks Anna.

U.S. Savings Bonds The Safe Place to Save Money

U.S. Savings Bonds The Safe Place to Save Money
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Safe Savings Vehicle or Underperformer?
By Jeremy Vohwinkle, About.com
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If you’re tired of the pitiful interest rate on your savings account at the bank, you may want to look into U.S. savings bonds for an equally safe place to keep some of your savings. With most bank accounts, the safety of your money comes from being insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. This provides insurance on up to $100,000 per depositor. Unfortunately, while your money may be safe, there is a good chance the interest rate on the account is quite low.
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With U.S. savings bonds, your money is also safe, but it isn’t through FDIC insurance. Savings bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. For individuals who are seeking safety of their principal, they can rest easy knowing that as long as the government is around, they are obligated to repay your principal and interest.
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Tax Benefits of Savings Bonds
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Because savings bonds are issued by the federal government, they are exempt from state and local taxes. In addition, the interest earned on bonds can be tax-deferred until the bond is redeemed. This is unlike interest earned on regular savings accounts and certificates of deposits where the interest earned is taxable fully as ordinary income each year. If you’re concerned about taxes, savings bonds can provide some relief.
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Series EE Bonds
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The EE bond is the standard savings bond and they replace the earlier E bonds which are no longer issued by the U.S. Treasury. Series EE bonds purchased on or after May 1, 2005, earn a fixed rate of interest. This allows you to easily calculate what your bonds are worth at any given time. EE bonds that were purchased between May 1997 and April 30, 2005, earn interest based on a 5-year variable market-based yield.
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Electronic EE Bonds
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EE bonds can be purchased directly from Treasury Direct Online. Electronic bonds are sold at face value, which means you pay $25 for a $25 bond, and it is worth its full value when it is available to be redeemed. These bonds can be purchased for any dollar amount of $25 or more. The maximum purchase per calendar year is $5,000.
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Paper EE Bonds
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Unlike the electronic version, paper EE bonds are sold at half their face value. For example, you would pay $25 for a $50 bond. The bond then increases in value over time as interest is earned and the bond does not reach face value until it has matured. Also, you may only purchase paper EE bonds in pre-determined denominations: $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000. The maximum purchase amount per calendar year is also $5,000.
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It is also important to note that if you redeem a series EE bond any time during the first five years, you’ll forfeit the three most-recent months’ interest. Redeeming an EE bond any time after five years will not incur a penalty. In addition, you must wait at least one year before redeeming an EE bond.
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Series I Bonds
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I bonds are similar to EE bonds, but they have a distinct difference in determining how much interest is paid. The I stands for “inflation”, and series I bonds have an interest rate that is indexed to the inflation rate. This means that your I bond is designed to keep pace with, or beat inflation. The actual interest rate is set by a fixed rate that lasts the life of the bond, plus a semi-annual inflation rate on top of that. The inflation rate is determined once in May and again in November.
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Just like EE bonds, you may buy a paper I bond or purchase electronically. The same limitations apply except that all I bonds are sold at face value and you can only purchase $5,000 per year. You will also forfeit the three most recent months’ interest if you redeem an I bond within the first five years.
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What Interest Rate do Savings Bonds Pay?
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The interest rates on bonds changes over time as other key economic interest rates fluctuate, but EE bonds issued between November 2007 and April 2008 earn 3.0%. To put this into perspective, going back to 1995, the long-term rates ranged between a low of 2.47% in 2003 to a high of 6.31% in 1995. A comparable I bond rate after November of 2007 earns 4.28%.
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Bonds for Higher Education
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With the introduction of Section 529 college savings plans, using savings bonds for higher education savings has become less attractive, but they do still hold some advantages. For EE and I bonds issued after 1989, the bond owner can redeem the bond without being subject to federal tax on the interest, provided the higher education expenses are qualified.
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In addition to having qualified education expenses, you must be at least 24 years old on the first day of the month in which you purchased the bond. If the bond is for your child, they must be registered in your name and your child may be listed as a beneficiary, but not as co-owner. The IRS also imposes income limitations for which this tax exclusion can be claimed. See IRS Form 8815 for current income limits.
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When Are Savings Bonds Appropriate Investments?
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U.S. savings bonds are certainly a safe place to save money, but you want to make sure that you’re putting money into bonds for the right reasons. Remember, the interest rates can be higher than a typical savings account, but there may be some liquidity concerns to contend with first. If there is a chance you may need access to the money inside of one year, keep in mind that you cannot redeem a savings bond until one year has elapsed. In addition, you will forfeit three months’ interest if you redeem a bond prior to five years.
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Even with interest rates generally higher than your bank account, savings bonds should not make up a significant portion of your long-term savings. Compared to other long-term investments like stocks in your retirement account, the interest earned is quite low. Stocks historically return between 9-11% on average per year, so investing for your future solely in savings bonds will probably not yield the best results.
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Savings bonds should be considered for financial goals somewhere between five and ten years away. After five years you may redeem the bonds without penalty, but hanging onto bonds for much longer than ten years and you could probably see better returns with other investments.
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http://financialplan.about.com/od/savingmoney/a/SavingsBonds.htm

An Email Response From The GOP

Subject: Thank you for your thoughts and comments
From: "Info Services Temp"
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 3:18 PM

Thank you for contacting the Republican National Committee. We certainly appreciated your email, and will include your thoughts in our report to the Chairman. Please do not hesitate to contact us in the future with any of your thoughts, opinions or observations.

Office of Constituent Services

Republican National Committee

info@gop.com

http://www.gop.com/

My Email To The GOP

Subject: Hello. Concerning Senator Arlen Specter.
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 3:17 PM
To: Chairman@gop.com

Hello, and to whom it may concern:

I am writing to ask a question concerning Senator Arlen Specter, and his decision to switch parties before his term as a Republican Senator is concluded.

I am asking if it is possible to request that Senator Specter step down, or that he be removed, from his position.

He won by Republican vote, and I am not happy about his representing Democratic interests for the remainder of his term.

I supported him within the Republican ticket, and I think he should step down.

I believe this to be false representation to the voters who helped elect him to his office as Senator.

I would like to see him removed or step down - due to the length of time still remaining in his elected term - and be replaced either by special election [if that is possible] or by Republican replacement as was elected.

This is his American right to support the party that best represents his interests - but that party choice doesn't represent mine.

I look forward to your response if any.

Many blessings of peace to you,
Assuredly in faith,
Rev. Marguerite Earhart

P.O. Box 313,
Spring City, PA 19475

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Office of the Chairman
Phone: 202-863-8700
Fax: 202-863-8820
Email: Chairman@gop.com

http://www.gop.com/

http://www.pagop.org/

An Email Response From Glenn Beck.

Subject: automated response
Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 2:32 PM

Thanks so much for the email. Due to the volume of mail this may be the only response you see.

While I do not always see it in a timely fashion I do try to read all of my mail. However, I average over 2000 letters a day and there is no way I can respond to most letters.

I am glad you are watching/listening and even though you may not see a response, I want you to know that I am listening as well.

Thanks,

Glenn Beck

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http://www.glennbeck.com/